Nora Denuit
"God help anyone who disrespected the Queen." Nora Denuit is a pureblood witch and the oldest child born to Antoine and Emelia Denuit, wealthy English wizards with connections to the French wizarding aristocracy. Stern, strong, cunning and ruthless in her endeavors, Nora can be described in one word: ambition. She attended Hogwarts from 1992 to 1999 and was sorted into Slytherin House. Nora was present for the Battle of Hogwarts and was among the large percentage of Slytherins locked in the Dungeons during the fighting. After her graduation, Nora went on to further studies in potionmaking and alchemy. Her family's vast wealth enabled her to work independently, though she maintained strong ties with many Ministry officials over the years, working on and off as a Potions expert consultant for various Departments within the Ministry due to her reputation as one of the best potioneers since Horace Slughorn. She was offered a position as Hogwarts' new Potionsmaster in 2011, a position she accepted with little hesitation. She has served as the Head of Slytherin House since 2014. Biography Early Life (1981-1992) Nora Denuit was born the first child of Antoine and Emelia Denuit. Antoine, independently wealthy with many connections throughout the French Magic Parliament (French: Parlement de Sorcellerie), nonetheless held a great deal of influence throughout the UK Ministry of Magic due to his connections to a lot of the old money in the UK and his many contributions to elected officials' campaigns. Antoine. He was also a zealous Death Eater and held close relations to the Malfoys, the Blacks, the Selwyns, the Burkes and the Travers families, among many others. It was into this climate of pureblood dogma, wealth and high society plotting that Nora was born. She was taught about the "great game" from an early age. "Power is power," her father would tell her. Climbing the social ladder, achieving more power, that was the goal. Even from a young age, Nora proved an adept player of the game. Hogwarts Years (1992-1999) Nora attended Hogwarts when she turned eleven and, like the rest of her family, was sorted into Slytherin House. Popular and desired, Nora was one of the reigning queen bees of Slytherin and like most in her House, despised Harry Potter, though she didn't mess with him to the extent that her elder classmates Draco Malfoy or Pansy Parkinson did. Nora was bright and charming, her grades at the top of her classes and her disciplinary record was spotless. That's not to say she was a model student; Nora was something of a heartbreaker, seducing boys and then breaking their hearts just for the thrill of it and lashing out at her enemies in secret ways that would never get back to her professors. While she excelled in most of her classes, Nora's best class by far was Potions. She was just a natural at it, it seemed, and Nora's skill was unrivaled among her peers. During the 1996-1997 school year, Nora was appointed Slytherin Prefect and became a member of the Slug Club and she attended all of the regular functions. She proved to be a favorite student of Slughorn's. That next year, her former Potions Master and Head of House, Severus Snape, ascended to become the Headmaster. The Carrows became staff, teaching Dark Arts and practicing curses on the muggleborn children. Nora didn't exactly disagree with her family's pureblood rhetoric but she thought the brute force operation they were performing at Hogwarts was a foolish strategy; oppression breeds resistance. However, due to her blood status and reputation, Nora was untouched and ultimately unbothered by the grip Voldemort had on the school. During the Battle of Hogwarts in May of 1998, Nora was locked in the dungeons along with most of Slytherin House. She spent her time during the battle tending to and comforting the younger students who were afraid of the sounds of the battle, and forming some kind of strategy with the other prefects should anything come to harm them. But most of all, Nora was enraged at the treatment the Slytherins were receiving; furious at the injustice and indignity of it all. The other students were given the options to run or to fight, but not them. They were locked away, to hell with how the battle turned out. In the wake of the battle, Nora was met with a crushing discovery; her father had been killed in the fighting. She never definitely discovered the identity of her father's killer but she vowed to do so and wreak her terrible revenge. The Denuit family was put under much scrutiny over the next few months for their connections to the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. Emelie claimed that she and her husband had been under the influence of the Imperius Curse and barring any evidence to the contrary, the Denuits were ultimately pardoned. Her fury still burned white hot, but she knew better than to lash out without thinking. A mad dog is ignored. She put her emotions aside and forced herself to focus on her ambitions, on her advancement. That was the only goal. By the 1998-1999 school year, Nora had put herself together enough that she went back to Hogwarts for her final year. She received the accolade of Head Girl and graduated top of her class, with the Slime & Potion Concoction Award, Herbology Award, Special Award for Services to the School and an Medal for Magical Merit. Adult Years Nora would go on to continue potions work and alchemical studies, publishing her findings and meeting with other potioneers during conventions for the next several years. Her family had enough money that she did not need to work in the traditional sense and the Denuit family were not Ministry drones. They donated money and wielding influence like a sword. Even after the Second Wizarding War, the Denuit family's reputation was not as damaged or tarnished as many other families once on their caliber, such as the Malfoys or the Goyles. In 2004, Emelie committed suicide by ingesting a deadly potion. Due to a loophole, the Denuit family fortune was given almost entirely to Nora, instead of her brothers, a last minute update to her mothers' will less than a year before she died. Harry Potter, Head Auror at the time, insisted she had something to do with her mothers' death but Harry's boss at the time didn't think so; Nora was too young and not even in the country at the time. The ensuing investigation turned up nothing and Nora was let off the hook with apologies from the Ministry. Nora allowed her brothers to continue living on the family estate on the family dime in exchange for managing things and essentially running errands at Nora's orders. Through this time, Nora's reputation as a master potion maker only grew. She began to consult with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and other branches of the Ministry when the opinion or testimony of an expert potion maker was needed. By 2011, she had received many awards and trophy's, including the Gold Medal for Ground-Breaking Contribution to International Alchemical Progress (2006), the Wilhemina Twigge Award (2008) and Britain's Best Dressed Witch Award (2009). Return to Hogwarts In early spring 2011, Nora was contacted by Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, to inquire if Nora would be interested in a post at Hogwarts, teaching Potions. At first, Nora was almost offended but she gave the opportunity some thought. Ambition was the name of the game and she had started to stagnate. A post at Hogwarts wasn't exactly a lateral move but Headmistress of Hogwarts...that was a post with influence, something that could offer her leverage and open doors to the big job, the position she craved: Minister for Magic. Nora responded that she would be most happy to teach Potions and that she would come to Hogwarts at the soonest convenience. As of 2018, Nora is in her seventh year teaching and her fourth year as Head of Slytherin House. She spends her summers at the Denuit estate, managing the family's affairs with her brothers, attending conferences and banquets alike. Physical Appearance Nora is a beautiful woman in her thirties with long, curly black hair that she usually wears up when she's in any sort of professional setting. She has pale, supple skin, soft lips, piercing eyes and sharp, feminine features. She dresses in dark robes that are both modest and sensual. She tends to wear things around her neck. She is the epitome of class and tends to be an object of desire for most of her older students. Personality Nora is manipulative, devious, enigmatic and clever enough to give Lysander Burke a run for his money. She has a legendary poker face, constantly observing and listening, gathering all sorts of incriminating information through unknown means that she can use as leverage. Nora is not above blackmail, although she refers to it as "insurance". She can be ruthless, cold and fierce at times and displays deep emotional intelligence. She is brainy and likes detective stories. Nora isn't sadistic, however, and does not grow angry at her students or enact petty vendettas like her old Potions master; Nora understands that they're children and not worth her time or energy. She holds all of the Houses apart from Slytherin in very low regard; she thinks the Hufflepuffs are worthless jokes, the Ravenclaws are arrogant twits and the Gryffindors are uncultured, arrogant, brutish and slow. She displays genuine surprise in any occasion where a Gryffindor answers a question or brews a potion correctly. She tends to "forget" to award Gryffindor House any points in class and tends to mostly call on Slytherins. Nora takes absolutely no bullshit. Late students are not permitted to enter her classroom. Late work gets a zero. Anything less than absolute perfection is essentially mocked and belittled. She does not accept excuses. She is in absolute control in every moment and every interaction, even if others are unaware of it. Magical Abilities and Skills Nora graduated top of her class at Hogwarts, with N.E.W.T. scores only beaten by the likes of Hermione Granger. As such, she is proficient and highly skilled in most every area of magic. * Dark Arts: The daughter of a Death Eater and a Prefect during Voldemort's takeover of Hogwarts, Nora is highly skilled in the use of the Dark Arts. She is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly in a duel. * Mind Magic: Nora's skill with Mind magic is unparalleled by most alive today, skilled with illusions and compulsions. * Non-Verbal Magic: Nora is extremely skilled at non-verbal magic, even in conditions like a duel. * Wandless Magic: While not as skilled at wandless magic as, say, someone like Albus Dumbledore, Nora is more than capable as a witch even without her wand, a skill she began trying to perfect in her fourth year at Hogwarts. * Potions: Of course, Nora's most reputed skill is in the art of Potionmaking. She is capable of brewing highly complicated potions such as Veritaserum and the Wolfsbane Potion and is able to identify most potions, such as Polyjuice Potion, by smell. Major Relationships Lysander Burke Nora considers Lysander, Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, something of a joke. The black sheep of a largely disgraced family who has all but destroyed his own reputation, Nora gives the eccentric little regard and even less thought. Rose Granger-Weasley The daughter of Nora's own self-proclaimed rival in school--Hermione Granger--and Harry Potter's best friend, Nora is not particularly fond of Rose, who appears to have inherited her mother's knack for being an insufferable know-it-all. The way things currently stand, Nora gives the eager young student much thought. As the political landscape begins to shift, with Hermione in the thick of it, Nora's interest in Rose will shift with it, for good or ill it's hard to say. Albus Potter The son of the "Boy Who Lived", in her own House. The irony is almost too perfect to bear. She doesn't treat Albus with any special treatment (something her father is probably furious about) but she doesn't treat him poorly or pity him like some of the other teachers. She pushes Albus to be the best he can be and tends to get his bullies off his back, which has earned trust and affection from the boy. Trivia * Her favorite colors are green and black. * Nora is bisexual, with a preference for women. * Nora can play the piano and the cello. * She can speak four languages: English, French, Greek and Russian. * An accomplished painter. * Her poetry has been published in several well-known wizarding publications. * Like her father before her, Nora donates a considerable sum to various political campaigns and charities, as well as St. Mungo's and to Hogwarts itself. Category:Females Category:Pureblood Category:Class of 1999 Category:Characters Category:Potions Category:Hogwarts Professors Category:Slytherin House